Payment cards are getting smarter

We will have to get used to it: payment cards are gradually being equipped with screens and buttons in an effort to provide more features and greater security, especially for online payments that are seeing an increase in fraud, or to protect online banking that is subject to frequent phishing attempts. This represents a new challenge for banks, as well as for anyone seeking to provide secure online authentication solutions.

Thanks to the miniaturization of electronic components, payment cards can now accommodate an e-paper screen (the technology that Amazon uses for its Kindle), an NFC antenna, buttons, and a mini-battery guaranteed to keep working until the card expires, and beyond. In your hand, the finished product looks just like a traditional card.

With OT MOTION CODE™, the security code (the three digits on the back of the card used when paying online) are displayed on a mini-screen and change regularly, every hour, for example. Thus, if this information is stolen it quickly becomes unusable for fraudsters.

“For consumers, it is a fully transparent solution that doesn’t change the way they use their card. The same is true for online retailers, who don’t need to make any changes to their online store. This kind of screen card is the one that will catch on the quickest and explode in coming years, as it can readily be used by the entire ecosystem”, explains Stéphane Girodon, Business Development & Marketing Manager within OT’s Financial Services Institutions activity.

OT provides the card as well as the code validation server that is built into the bank’s or the transaction processor’s environment.

Buttons for additional features

Other, even more sophisticated cards come with one or more buttons.

Button cards can generate single use codes that can be used as a secure alternative to the static passwords that are usually used to access online banking, for example, or as an alternative to an SMS code sent during a 3-D Secure™ online transaction.

Like a very thin calculator, keyboard cards feature buttons that can be used to enter a PIN code to open a main menu. Via the menu, users have access to various features: a unique code like for the one-button card, two-way authentication with a website, electronic signature for an online banking transaction, or security codes for e-commerce as with OT MOTION CODE™, etc.

For Stéphane Girodon, “These cards add an additional layer of security, but most importantly they offer features beyond payment alone. They are all-in-one solutions. You don’t need your cell phone, a specific reader, or any other device to generate a temporary code: everything is on the card that fits in your wallet! Not only is there greater security, but these cards also remain very easy to use, which again facilitates their adoption by consumers”.

Several million button and keyboard cards have already been issued in a number of countries, and in 2015 OT will begin to roll out OT MOTION CODE™ in several countries, in particular with BPCE Group with whom we are launching a pilot in early September. As these cards are one of the most effective solutions against online fraud, there’s no doubt that they will soon form part of our everyday lives.